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What a bummer. The top half of Ludlow that we call home is pretty much shot to hell these days. Poor Ludlow is in ruins thanks to multiple abandoned high-rise projects that our mayor opened the LES to. The high-rises have since been left to stand half built, empty and unfinished. It's like the teeth got blacked out on our street. Now the news is out , Max Fish and Pink Pony are officially closing. I know that nothing stands still in the city but I'm still sad to see another "old timer" leave. I'm hoping Ulli finds a new space for Max Fish like Terry found a new space for TG 170. It's hard for bars to move, Liquor licenses are hard to obtain. Daredevil is feeling kind of lonely on the block with soon to be empty spaces on both sides and across the street. We're toughing it out for the time being.

I moved to Ludlow in 93 my first space was an apartment I tattooed out of across the street. Two years later I moved above Pianos (back when they actually sold Pianos). In 97 when tattooing was legalized Brad and I opened Daredevil Tattooat 174 Ludlow. The image above is from pictures I took of the block to send to Brad in St. Louis. I wanted him to get the feel of the neighborhood. He had never been to Ludlow Street. I remember his mom said that Ludlow looked like Sesame Street. How nice and homey the block looked back then before the abomination they built on our corner. Ulli was running both Max Fish and the Pink Pony at the time. Terry ran TG 170 a few doors down. Of course the Hat was around too.

All you can do is appreciate your neighborhood as it stands. You don't know how long it will last the way it is and how long the businesses that give it character can hang in there. Be sure to shop locally whenever you can small businesses need your support.

Actually we were talking about our tattoo "guns" But Jonathan Shaw (former owner and founder of Fun City Tattoo ) is in a bit of trouble
it seams, over guns (of the shooting variety).

We bought Fun City from Jonathan in 2005. Jonathan has since retired from tattooing and moved on to California and Brazil. He doesn't have anything to do with the shop any more and the shop has changed quite a bit since we took it over. About the only thing we kept from when Jonathan had the place is Big Steve. Big Steve has some good Jonathan stories. Jonathan got Steve started tattooing and pushed him into the deep end when he fired everyone else and put Steve in charge. Steve had only done about 10 tattoos. Good times. Luckily Steve has a few more tattoos under his belt at this point along with the rest of our crew.

There are many colorful characters in tattooing and Jonathan Shaw is definitely one of them.

I just got a question from TattooSnob.com for an opinion on what the
tattoo industry stands to gain from reality TV. I don't know that we've
gained anything from all the media exposure. In fact if anything we've
been robbed of a community we hold dear. Anyone who's been involved with
tattooing pre Miami Ink didn't get tattooed to be a part of a trend. I
started getting tattooed because it was anything but trendy or even
acceptable. Tattooing was a fringe subculture we worked our way into,
and it certainly wasn't seen as a valid career choice. It breaks my
heart to see tattooing get sold out to the media and popular culture.
TV producers are'nt on our side. The tattoo industry doesn't have a say
in the way it's portrayed in the media. Overall it depresses me to see our industry be represented by such vapid host. We can only hope for the best with what gets spewed out.

Now
there's a call for characters for New York Ink, the latest incarnation
of TLC's tattoo reality series. My response to the casting call?......
Sign me up. I don't really think I'm someone they would pick. I don't
drink, I'm in a stable relationship, I run a solid shop, I'm not very
emotional and I'm not a huge jerk who yells at people. There's two ways
to respond to change. You can be bitter and mourn for what once was. Or
you can step up and try to be a part of the change. We can't control how
they portray us but you can control how you portray yourself. I like
seeing artist I respect on TV (Chris, Kim, Hanna...). At the same time
I don't like seeing assholes represent my profession. Now to make
matters worse they're rolling into our neck of the woods. I'm hoping
they don't pick a bunch of losers for this one. This one's New York.
This one's ours. I'm not embarrased to say I want to be a part of
representing my community.

Think about what you would like to see
on a show about tattooing in NY. Think about the people you respect
who've been on the shows in the past. Did they discredit our industry?
Did they take anything away from what we're a part of? We are not able
to erase anything. No matter how "old school" you want to be you are
stuck in the present, right here with all these shows. Get over it.

If you cant make it to the San Jose Tattoo Convention in SanFrancisco to visit Brad Fink, Big Steve and Beau Brady from Daredevil you're in luck because there's another party going on here in NY.

TheNeedlesandSins.com crew are celebrating the release of a new monster tattoo tome, Black & Grey Tattoo: From Street Art to Fine Art!

The book, or rather box set of three volumes, explores black and grey tattooing in its various incarnations. And it's colossal. Weighing 22 lbs with over a thousand pages of the photos and interviews with masters of this style including Jack Rudy, Paul Booth, Bob Tyrrell, Brian Everette and many more artists from around the world.

Join us this Saturday, October 23rd, at Tattoo Culture, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, from 7-10:30PM for its New York debut.